Chapter 91: Heaven and Earth Rejuvenated; Cultivation World Progress: 91%
Shen Suqi carefully put away the sacred talisman, completely exhausted, unable even to stand up.
That's great. She boasted that she would compete for the position of Palace Master of the Holy Prayer Palace. Although she didn't doubt that she could do it, she thought that would be at least ten years from now.
But now everything is different. Once she advances to the Nascent Soul stage and breaks free from blood ties and karma, nothing in this world can bind her anymore.
She looked up at the cloud-covered sky and felt a moment of peace.
Suddenly, she choked on the blood that rushed back up into her throat, coughed heavily a few times, and struggled to sit up.
My intention was simply to regulate my breathing, but I seemed to sense something; my dantian felt hot and my meridians expanded.
She looked down at her hands in surprise, her palms enveloped by something invisible.
A strange power surged within her, and her intuition told her that this was something beneficial to her. She hesitated for a moment, then sat cross-legged and focused her energy.
The calamity clouds overhead gathered once more.
At the same time, Su Xiaoyao, whose only remaining body was a blackened shell in the scorched earth, couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth slightly.
The pressure of the sixth tribulation lightning decreased sharply, which meant that Shen Suqi had succeeded. The appearance of the Saint-grade talisman had drawn away some of the heavenly lightning, but the heavenly lightning was weakened more than expected. She guessed that Shen Suqi must have obtained some other opportunities.
She gently exhaled a breath of stale air, closed her eyes to regulate her breathing, and after a few breaths, the last bolt of heavenly lightning, which had been brewing for a long time and had completely turned golden, finally struck down.
The destructive power was undeniable, invading her limbs and bones, frantically destroying her meridians and bones. The speed of spiritual healing could not keep up with the damage caused by the heavenly lightning.
Consciousness blurred amidst boundless pain, almost fading away at any moment.
She vaguely sensed that her soul was about to shift. The ring, which was pressed tightly against her flesh and blood, was burning hot, forcefully pulling her soul away from her body. The silent soul-summoning banner behind her seemed to have reached some kind of trigger condition, waiting for the moment her soul was damaged to retract it.
No, her life will not end here!
Su Xiaoyao suddenly opened her eyes, her gray-white pupils meeting the terrifying heavenly lightning. Her soul trembled, not from fear, but from the excitement of competing against the heavens.
She will never admit defeat!
Under the golden light, several streaks of purple lightning flashed, striking the different magical artifacts with precision.
Dozens of artifact cultivators formed a fan shape, each controlling their own strange fire. Some swung hammers, while others used their minds to forge shapes. Sparks and lightning arcs flew everywhere, illuminating half of the valley as if it were daytime.
"Hurry up and finish! The formation of a top-grade spiritual artifact will attract lightning tribulation, so we can help the squad leader share the burden! Every bit of heavenly lightning we can steal is a bit!" the deputy squad leader shouted as he swung the hammer faster.
"Our class monitor broke his promise for the honor of our class, so we should reciprocate!"
"That's right!"
"I did it! Ahhh, this is the first top-grade spiritual artifact I've ever created! Calamity!"
The weapon repairmen worked together with one heart and one mind. Some succeeded and some failed, but those who failed were not discouraged. They wiped away their sweat and continued to refine their weapons.
The deputy squad leader was so engrossed in smashing the hammer that she was completely absorbed in it; her face was covered in black dust, but her eyes were bright and clear.
Suddenly, a golden light shot up from under the hammer, startling even the hammer wielder, who took a step back and stared wide-eyed.
“My whip…” she murmured.
The bone whip hovered in the air, and on its own, it wrapped itself around a remnant of lightning, entangled itself in it, and absorbed and devoured it.
Everyone stopped what they were doing, looked up, and watched as the bone whip, as if alive, devoured Dao Lei.
"It's become a spirit?" someone asked weakly.
"It doesn't seem to be a spirit, it's..."
The deputy squad leader slammed down the hammer, his voice trembling: "A spirit...it's a spirit! I created a spirit!"
That's a spirit! A top-grade spiritual artifact possesses sentience, meaning it has the opportunity to advance on its own!
Rounding it off results in a top-tier product!
She couldn't help but burst into laughter.
As expected, some of the heavenly lightning was drawn in, and the bone whip even withstood seven bolts of dark gold heavenly lightning.
The deputy class monitor felt sorry for the spirit, but she couldn't interfere with its tribulation. She also vaguely sensed that, perhaps because it was born from a tribulation, the bone whip seemed to naturally possess the ability to resist heavenly lightning, and it was destined not to perish.
After the seven bolts of heavenly lightning subsided, heaven and earth acknowledged the newly born intelligence.
The newly refurbished bone whip returned to the Creator's side and nuzzled affectionately.
The vice-monitor hugged it and grinned foolishly, chuckling several times.
"If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening. My life has been worthwhile!"
One classmate immediately said, "Don't be like that, Vice Class Monitor, you still need to make a few more Saint-grade Spiritual Artifacts."
"Stop laughing, sis! Come and give us some pointers!"
"Seeking guidance from experts~"
"Okay, coming right away!"
Having witnessed this scene, the others worked even harder.
A sacred artifact, a spirit within it. This is the ultimate goal for every artifact cultivator! They want it too!
On the other side of the mountain, the cultivators who were focused on advancing to higher levels also began to take action. In exchange, they would also share the pressure with Su Xiaoyao during the final tribulation.
The purple lightning struck Xu Lingyou hard. He quickly summoned his defensive magic weapon to block the damage and then swallowed a pill to rest before the third bolt of lightning struck.
He had a vague sense of foreboding; this tribulation of advancement was coming with overwhelming force, far more dangerous than he had anticipated.
After much thought, he realized that he was probably regretting not having made enough preparations, probably because he had recently gained a deeper understanding of sword intent.
As a traditional sword cultivator, he poured all his spirit stones into his sword and lived a very simple life. For a time, he had no useful defensive artifacts in his storage space, only various medicines for injuries given to him by Dai Kui before he left.
Two more bolts of lightning struck down in succession, causing his protective spiritual energy to falter and the surrounding protective spiritual artifacts and talismans to turn to ashes. His eyes glazed over, and his body trembled involuntarily, on the verge of being swallowed up by the next bolt of lightning.
At the critical moment, the figure closest to him moved, and a light shield barely blocked his head.
Xu Lingyou quickly swallowed the pills to repair his injuries.
He cast a grateful glance at the cold-faced boy, who simply nodded slightly in response before returning his focus to himself.
That was his classmate in the sword cultivation class. He was said to be from the royal family of the mortal realm. He was usually quiet but very serious about his cultivation.
At this moment, Wenren Juan was using his sword energy to withstand the heavenly lightning. He was also in bad shape, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. However, when he saw Xu Lingyou in danger, he still intervened without hesitation.
Xu Lingyou was very competent when he served as the temporary class leader of the sword cultivator class. He remembered his kindness. He came from humble beginnings and remembered everyone who had shown him kindness.
After an unknown amount of time, golden light shone on those who had successfully advanced, some large and some small, and the clouds of tribulation finally dispersed, revealing a corner of azure sky.
The purest spiritual energy fell like sweet rain, nourishing every wounded body. Everyone greedily absorbed this gift from heaven, repairing their injuries and consolidating their cultivation levels.
Shen Suqi's heart skipped a beat. She had been carefully observing the direction of the mountain peak, but she did not see the golden light that should have appeared when she successfully advanced.
She rushed to the top of the mountain, and when she arrived, she saw a person lying motionless in a deep pit, his body charred black like a dead tree, with a soul-summoning banner lying askew beside him.
"Yao! My Yao!" she exclaimed in horror.
After she ran a few steps away, the withered wood suddenly cracked and fell off, revealing the fair skin underneath.
Su Xiaoyao struggled to sit up. As she moved, the charred shells fell off faster. A jumble of noises buzzed in her ears, as if trying to stuff the whole world into her consciousness. Her vision was blurry, like looking at flowers through a fog. But in a moment, the fog dissipated, and a powerful life force spread through her body. The world appeared before her with unprecedented clarity, and her depleted spiritual energy returned, becoming more abundant than before.
A complete transformation, nothing more.
Su Xiaoyao wiped the bloodstains from her lips and revealed a hearty smile.
At her age, she had just entered the Nascent Soul stage; how could she not be proud? Moreover, she could clearly feel the immense benefits brought by this tribulation.
"Cleanse! Cleanse!" Shen Suqi waved to her from beside the pit.
Su Xiaoyao tidied herself up, changed into the extremely gorgeous clothes she had prepared in advance, and then jumped out of the deep pit with the help of Shen Suxi's outstretched hand.
"The Nascent Soul stage is truly different," she said, sensing the fluctuations in spiritual energy.
“I think so too.” Shen Suqi said with a mysterious smile.
Seeing the corners of her mouth turned up in a wild grin, Su Xiaoyao recalled her earlier guess that she must have other opportunities.
She tried to sense the other person's cultivation level, but failed. After a moment of surprise, she asked softly, "Nascent Soul stage?"
"Hmm." Shen Suqi put her hands on her hips smugly and gave him a triumphant look.
"You said you envied me? You're the one who's enviable!" Su Xiaoyao hugged her neck excitedly.
"It's nothing special. The Saint-grade talisman fed back the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, allowing me to jump two levels from the mid-Nascent Soul stage."
"Wow, our Sister Qi is really showing off."
"Not at all, I just plan to spread the word so that the whole world knows who the number one talisman cultivator in the world is."
"Very well, very well, you're the only one who can beat Fang Hong and kick the Holy Prayer Palace."
Just as the two were laughing so hard they were doubled over, a clear and melodious cry came from the sky, and at the same time, golden light enveloped the earth.
“It’s Fengxiao.” Su Xiaoyao often spent time with the phoenix cubs, so she knew the source of the cry all too well.
Shen Suqi reached out to catch the ethereal light and murmured, "I read in an old post that those with great fortune would be blessed by divine beasts after their advancement, and heaven and earth would celebrate, giving back to the world's fortune. So this is what it means."
Su Xiaoyao chuckled softly: "I don't have that much influence on my own. It's probably the heavens and earth celebrating... that our era is about to begin."
The phoenix's phantom image blotted out the sky, trailing its magnificent crimson tail feathers as it soared and danced above the entire island. The sea and land, birds and beasts, and all living creatures responded in unison, their voices blending into one.
Not only the students at the university, but also the people on the distant shore felt a sense of unease.
Although separated by great distances, the joy generated by nature transcends spatial boundaries, and the golden light it casts equally nourishes all things.
Pedestrians stood frozen in place, children jumped for joy, and everyone put down what they were doing.
They all had the same intuition—
The cultivation world will return to that glorious era.
Jun Huilian stood with her hands behind her back. With the blessing of Heaven, she could see things that ordinary people could not.
Countless invisible streams of "qi" converged from all directions, flowing like streams into the sea. The Qi of the world surged like a tide, nourishing this impoverished world and tenderly caressing the young cultivators in their prime.
The destiny of this world has been restored.
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